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The acupuncture treatment

When you become ill, the Chinese would say that the energy flow of your body has gone haywire.

However, using the acupuncture points, one can get the body back into shape. And when your energy is as it should be, your immune system will improve and you'll be able to fight disease again.

But why use acupuncture? The answer to this question is complex. Why not just take an aspirin for pain or antibiotics for that chest infection? Obviously, there are times when these medications are useful, but natural medicine works in a completely different way.

Acupuncture works by strengthening your body and your immune system. The immune system is capable of remembering: in Western terms, once you produce antibodies against a certain illness, it's easier to overcome the illness in future.

So, by using acupuncture to overcome an illness, you stimulate your immune system to work to overcome that illness by yourself. In this way, you are more capable to overcome it next time.

It strengthens the immune system
Another advantage of this is that by using natural medicine, you actually strengthen the immune system. So, even if a new illness comes along, the immune system is better equipped to fight it off.

It's sort of like getting yourself fit after a rather lazy winter. At first you feel weak at the thought of a walk, then you manage a short stroll before giving up, but eventually you can go for a four-hour hike up the mountain.

Your immune system is similar. If every time you become ill you take something to kill the bacteria or to suppress the virus, your immune system gets lazy. It only has to do a little bit of work before it can go back to bed, so to speak.

Natural medicines, such as acupuncture, boost the immune system so that it can do its job properly.

Acupuncture isn't a drug. It doesn't act like an antibiotic, an anti-viral or an anti-fungal, but it does work very effectively in helping you to get well.

In some cases, its effects can be seen a lot sooner than that of conventional drugs. For example, earache can be relieved within seconds - far quicker than any antibiotic could ever work.

[This article was written by Dr Debbie Smith (M:Tech:Hom). Dr Smith is a qualified acupuncturist and homeopath, specialising in iris diagnosis using high-definition photography. For more information on acupuncture, contact her on (011) 463 8564 or e-mail her: drdebbie@absamail.co.za]

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